Pipe cleaner



July 13, 1937. i F. PosslNGER PIPE CLEANER Filed Nov. 27, 1934 PatentedJuly 13, 1937 D UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE f :i i 2,086,738

Ftrs CLEANER Florian Possing'er, Ebenezer, N. Y. Application November2'?, i934, Serial lilo.l 755,008

2 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in pipe cleanersy and moreparticularlyl to a cleaner of `therearner type adapted for cleaning orrearning out the bowl of a tobacco pipe. Y ,Theyinvention has for itsprimary object the yprovision of a'cleaner or reainer which isselfadjustable to the varying interior contour of bowls of; tobaccopipes of various shapes and sizes.

Another object of my invention is to provide a simple, and inexpensivecleaner 'of this type which will effectively free the walls of pipebowls o ,fftobacco and carbon,y and which will as effectigvelyclean'thebottom of the bowl as the` side wall thereof.

A furtherobjectoffmy invention is the provi vsiony-oi 21.',cleaner'oithis type, comprising few lparts-which,are capable of being readilylassemlblecliand connected together without the use of rivets, solder, orother extraneous fastening means. 1 l

, A `still further object of my invention is the provision of a cleaneror rea-mer for pipe bowls having a su,lostantially U-shaped reamingelement silient strip of metal having a suitable handle attached to itsoutei` or free ends and being stiffened adjacent said handle to resistthe torsional strain applied thereto while rotating the saine during theact of cleaning a pipe bowl.

The invention consists in the novel features of construction, and in thearrangement and cornbination of parts to be hereinafter described andmore particularly pointed out in the subjoined claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my invention applied to the bowl of atobacco pipe showing the manner 4in which the cleaner or reamer ismanipulated.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the bowl-end of the pipeshowing my improved cleaner or reamer inserted therein and the manner inwhich it is rendered self-conformable to the interior contour of thepipe bowl.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the complete cleaner or reamer.

Fig. 4 isa section taken on line 4 4, Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section through the handle or outer end of thedevice.

Fig. 6 is a cross section taken on line 6-S, Fig. 5, looking in thedirection of the arrow crossing said line.

Fig. 7 is a detached perspective' view of the sleeve retainer formingpart of the handle.

constructed of a comparatively thin narrow re- (ci. iai-13) Referring tothe drawing in detail, 8 designa'tes a tobacco pipe having tobacco bowlS at one end, as is common.

The cleaner or reamer comprises three parts, namely, a cleaning orrea-ming element it, a hanf dle li, and a retainer sleeve i2 formingpart of said handle. Thecleaning or reaming element is formed of anarrow stripof flat resilient metal, such as sliocl spriiig or highlycarbonized steel, properly tempered and curved between its ends` toprovide a yielding bight i3 andV yielding side parts or legs it. Y

The handle ll is thirnble-lilfe in form to provide a peripheral wall l5,preferably cylindrical, andan outer end wall it. rPhe outer surface ofthis handle is serrated or otherwise roughened, as at l?, to aid ingripping thesame between the thumb and foreiingerr of a hand, or in anyother manner. v

The retainer sleeve is provided at diainetrically opposite points withgrooves t3 which extend the full length thereof, and may be a trifleless in depth than the thickness of the flexible strip inaterial formingthecleaning er reaming element. The outer or free ends of. the cleaningor reaming element are placed within kthe grooves and the sleeveinserted into the handle under pressure, with the result that the endsof the substantially U-shaped cleaning or rearning element are firmlyclamped. between the thimble-like outer and the sleeve-like innermembers of the handle. The three parts of the device are thus firmlyconnected together without resorting to the 1Lise of rivets, solder, orother fastening means.

It will therefore be apparent that the forcing of the retainer sleeveinto the thimble-like handle assures a secure fastening of the cleaningor reaining element in place, and due to the fact that the retainersleeve is inserted into the thimble-like handle under considerablepressure, the grooves within said retainer sleeve need not necessarilybe shallower than the thickness of the metallic strip forming thecleaning or reaming element. However, to assure a secure fastening, thestrip should at least correspond in thickness to the depth of saidgrooves. When thus assembled the device comprises a loop-like orsubstantially Ushaped cleaning or roaming element and a handle, whichlatter, in a broad sense, may be considered to include both members lland l2, herein separately referred to as the handle and retainer sleeve,respectively. The loop of the cleaning or reaming element has itsAgreatest width between its bight and the handle, and is thereforerendered quite resilient so as to conform to the interiors of varioussized bowls of tobacco pipes. This formation permits of the readyinsertion cf the cleaningv or reaming element into a bowl, and bypressing downwardly upon the device, said element automatically shapesitself to the interior contour of the bowl s0 as to ream the same fromthe bottom to the top; or at least, depending on the depth of the bovl,from the extreme bottom upwardly or outwardly toward the top.

When inserted into the bowl the handle is taken hold of and rotated,with the result that the flexible cleaning element is moved circularlyin contact with the inner wall surface of the bowl, the sharp corners atthe edge of the element acting upon the adhering tobacco or carbon andeffectively scraping or reaming the same from the wall of the bowl.

The cleaning or reaming element may be rotated continuously in acircular direction, or back and forth, as may be found desirable, and insuch cases where the element is not in contact with the upper portion ofthe wall of the bowl when fully inserted into the bowl, after reamingthe lower or inner portion, the device may be liftedv or raised so thatthe cleaning of the upper portion of the wall can take place.

Such rotary movement of the cleaning or reaming element results intorsional strain being applied to the side parts or legs thereof,particularly in proximity to the handle, and since said element is mosteffective when made comparatively thin due to the desirability of havingit conform itself to the shape of the bowl, I provide each of the sideparts or legs I4 of the element adjacent the handle with stiifening ribsI9 which extend downwardly from the handle and from opposite ends aregradually widened to a point midlength so that they gradually merge fromtheir medial points directly into the flat formation of said parts orlegs. By thus stiffening the spaced parts or legs of the cleaning orreaming element all tendency of said parts or legs to twist adjacent thehandle is obviated.

It will be apparent therefore that I have produced a pipe cleaner orreamer which is exceedingly flexible so that it will conform itself tothe shape ofthe interior of a tobacco bowl when inserted thereinto, yetbe exceedingly rigid, and in addition thereto provide a convenienthandle having an outer end face formed by the outer end wall i6 of thehandle, which can be used as a tamper for pressing down the tobacco inthe bowl while smoking. The device is therefore one which will serve asa pocket companion to a tobacco pipe, and will aid in keeping a pipe inperfect smoking condition and also enable the tobacco to be properlypacked during the act of smoking Without resorting to the usual methodof inserting a finger into the bowl for this purpose, which occasionallyresults in pain due to a slight burn, and also causes soiling of thehand.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A tobacco pipe cleaner, comprising a hollow handle, a thin fiatresilient strip of metal curved between its ends and having its endsinserted into said hollow handle, and a retainer sleeve provided withgrooves at diametrically opposite ends to receive the ends of saidstrip, said retainer sleeve being forcibly inserted into said hollowhandle to clamp the ends of said strip between said handle and saidretainer sleeve.

2. A tobacco pipe cleaner, comprising a cylindrical handle, a sleeveforcibly inserted into said handle and having grooves arrangedlongitudinally therein at diametrically opposite points, and a flatresilient strip of metal curved between its ends and having its endsinserted into vsaid grooves and clamped between said handle and saidretainer sleeve, said stripr having stiffening ribs near its endsextending downwardly from said handle, each of said ribs being graduallywidened from its ends towards its longitudinal center so that said ribsgradually merge at opposite ends into the flat portions of said strips.

FLORIAN POSSINGER.

